"My defendant never ordered, never ran, never planned, and never oversaw what he is accused of doing," he said.

Rios Montt seized power in a March 23, 1982, coup, and ruled until he was overthrown just over a year later.

Prosecutors say that while in power, Rios Montt was aware of, and thus responsible for, the slaughter of at least 1,771 Ixil Mayas in the towns of San Juan Cotzal, San Gaspar Chajul and Santa Maria Nebaj in Guatemala's western highlands.

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